Tiny school gets big turnout for The Pocket Winter Festival

ONLY around 120 students attend the school, but more than ten times that number turned out for The Pocket Winter Festival last weekend.

The annual fundraiser was a dream day out for kids, with jumping castles, face painting and ice-cream stalls drawing large crowds.

“It was amazing,” festival director Nathan Kaye said.

“In previous years there’s been a lot of congestion in the main area so one of the things that we did this year that was different was spread more of the activities out to the back field.

“We had four jumping castles, tractor rides, interactive activities like stiltwalking and blowing bubbles with Spaghetti Circus and a petting zoo.

“I tried to make the focus of the main stage children’s entertainers and I think that worked really well. The kids seemed to love that aspect.”

Kaye also acted as MC at the event and performed as part of the duo Bark Side of the Moon. Entertainment highlights included high-energy circus acts from Ziggy & Zumba, a quirky performance from Salmonhead and giant bubble-blowing with Shorty Brown the Clown.

“For a small community school in a regional area I think we have done a pretty good job,” Kaye said. “I’m really proud of how all the parents and teachers came together and helped.

“The whole school community got involved – we ended up getting way more cakes and curries to sell than we asked for.”

While the final amount is yet to be tallied, it’s believed the event raised more than $30,000 for the school’s creative arts program.